High-tension electrostatic separators are commonly used to separate particles in a matter stream based on the varying conductivity of the constituent components. In the processing industry more conductive particles often need to be sorted from relatively less conductive particles. The difference in conductivity provides a means of separating such materials using a high-tension electrostatic separator. High-tension electrostatic separators use high voltage (about 30 kV) ionizing electrodes that generate an electrical discharge (commonly referred to as corona) to ionize the air. This ionization bombards the matter stream with ions and electrons as they pass over a grounded rotating drum. This charges the matter stream according to the polarity of the ionizing electrode and pins the mixture of the matter stream to the rotating drum. The more conductive particles in the matter stream lose their charge faster than less conductive particles and are thrown away from the rotating drum (i.e., by centrifugal force). A lifting electrode downstream of the ionizing electrode is used to further improve the efficiency of the separation by creating an electric field that attracts the more conductive particles by inducing a new charge on their surface and causing them to deviate from their natural falling trajectory as they are thrown from the rotating drum.
Some prior art lifting electrodes are prone to arcing—i.e. visible electrical discharges are formed from the lifting electrode to the rotating drum. Arcing disrupts the electrical field normally generated by the lifting electrode thereby greatly reducing the effectiveness of the separation process. To address this deficiency, other prior art lifting electrodes are encased in glass which is fragile in industrial applications and prone to cracking or breaking from impacts of particles from the matter stream hitting the encased electrode. Other prior art lifting electrodes require significantly more power to be used to generate comparable electrical fields.